Game Informer Online Usage Guidelines

Game Informer provides Forums, Blogs and other forms of
discussion as a service to its users and customers, to help them exchange
ideas, tips, information, and techniques related to our services. They are here
for the enjoyment and benefit of all members, are accessible to all who
register. Like any community, they are most valuable when everyone obeys certain
basic guidelines and rules for online behavior.

These guidelines and rules are presented here so that you know
what is expected of you and what you can expect from other participants when
using the site. By registering you agree to follow these Usage Guidelines, in
addition to the Terms and Conditions.

**This guide refers to any content found in the Blogs, Forums,
Guides, User Reviews and Groups sections of the site, and any Comment fields on the website.**

If you ever have any questions about these services, the rules,
or anything related to the website, ask a moderator! Moderators are
identified by the blue "Mod" box around their avatar, and can be
contacted at any time by leaving a comment in their personal page, or by
starting a Conversation with them. We're here to help maintain a positive
environment for all users.

Please
contact any of the following Moderators for help. Click on any name below to go
to their profile page and click the "Start Conversation" link to ask a
question. Please be patient, not everyone will be available at all
times:

As the website is owned and operated by Game Informer Magazine,
the company retains the right to remove or alter content from the site that is
deemed inappropriate, harmful, or inaccurate. Furthermore, Game Informer
retains the right to limit or restrict user access to the forum at any time. Game
Informer is not responsible for the failure or delay of removal of any material
from the website at any time.

Behave Like Adults (Even
If You Aren't):

Everyone that participates in the forum wants, and deserves, an
enjoyable experience. Please refrain from posting content that would detract
from another member's time at the website.

Harassment:

Any attacks to a person's gender, sexual orientation, race,
nationality, religious affiliation, physical or mental disability will be
grounds for punishment, up to and including permanent removal of access to the site.

Obscene Content:

Images, videos, or other files that contain lewd, vulgar, or
pornographic content will not be tolerated on the website. If you have
even the slightest doubt that a file will be acceptable to post to the website,
don't post it.

Language:

The site make use of a filter that removes most curses. The
moderator staff does not appreciate phonetic curses or curses formed from 1337.
It's a no-no, please don't do it. If you break this rule expect some ban time.

"Noob" Bashing:

The intimidation or harassment of new members on the site. Be
patient; not everyone will understand how this place works on their first day.

Spam:

Pointless messages, threads, or blogs meant to annoy others. The
occasional goofball thread/blog is generally harmless, but excessive and extreme
instances of spam will be removed. This also goes for User Reviews and Guides. Posts
that are not genuine reviews/guides or are made before the game is actually
released is considered spam and will be removed from the site.

One Word Posts:

Please don't make a post with just one word such as "First", "Agreed",
etc. This is frowned upon and we encourage all members to not do it. This can
be considered spam and point boosting.

Flaming:

Insulting other members' thoughts and opinions. Reasoned,
thoughtful discussion is encouraged. Insults and threats will not be tolerated.

Trolling:

Posting in a manner that intentionally provokes others into
arguments. This is a ban worthy offense.

No Advertising:

The Game Informer website is provided as a free service to
customers. The promotion of third party services and products, without the
express permission of Game Informer staff, is prohibited. Please refrain from
posting advertisements, sending junk mail, or making any form of unauthorized
solicitation.

Alternate Accounts:

Everyone is allowed to have an alternate account if they choose to.
Not like we would know anyways. However, if you have been banned please
don't circumvent your ban by creating a new account. If you are found
doing so your IP address will be permanently banned. Also using an
alternate account in a malicious way towards members or this site will
result in your IP address being permanently banned.

Keep Your Nose Clean:

Game Informer wishes to maintain a safe and legal environment,
and prohibits the posting of any material that would infringe upon, violate, or
alter any copyright and trademark rights of any party. Alteration of forum
software and/or the introduction of malicious viral software are also
prohibited, and will result in permanent suspension of access to the site.

Theft and Piracy:

Use of the site for the promotion of piracy/theft is prohibited. This
can include, but is not limited to: hacks or workarounds designed to
bypass video game console, User Agreements, websites and services for modifying
consoles to play region-locked products, links to websites containing illegal
ROMS and emulator software, promotion of peer-to-peer websites for the express
purpose of obtaining illegal software.

Keep Your Guard Up:

We live in a time of increased identify theft, and this website
is certainly not invulnerable to it. Choose what information you reveal about
yourself carefully. If anyone other than company staff requests personal
information, including but not limited to full name, password, home phone and
address, credit cards and bank information, or subscription or account number,
don't provide it. Contact a moderator immediately if you find someone seeking
this information.

Be wary also of information and help provided by other users of
this website. Think twice before heeding any advice that sounds harmful to
property or person. Game Informer is not responsible for damages or theft that
occurs as a result of suggestions provided by users of the website.

This is a list of guidelines that are more towards the blogging
section of GIO. However, all of the rules and guidelines listed above still
apply to the blog section. These are guidelines suggested by the GIO community.
Since these are the "community" guidelines if you would like to suggest a new
guideline to be added feel free to contact a moderator.

Stick to your Topic:

If you want to blog, make a point. Have a set topic in mind and
talk about it. Don't go off topic or in wild tangents unless they pertain in
some way to the topic and might enhance what you say more.

Go into Detail:

No one wants to click on a blog and find out that it's only two
sentences long. Put some effort into your blog and go into detail. Nobody is
asking you to write a five page novel, but we want to be able to see that you
spent at least five to ten minutes on it. Excited for a new game coming out?
Don't just say it, tell us why.

Walls of Text:

No walls of text please. Separate your blog into paragraphs for
easier reading. Using pictures in your blog will also help make it more
enjoyable to read.

Maybe your post belongs in
the Forums:

Sometimes a user will post a blog with the topic "what's your
favorite game", "what's your opinion on this", etc. In other words, asking for the
opinion of others instead of their own. Your blog is for expressing your
opinions. That's what we want to see.

The Forums is the perfect place if you have a question or want to
discuss a topic. If you have to write a blog we just ask that you express your
opinion in detail first before asking the opinions of others.

List Blogs:

Do you have a Top 10 list or a list of favorite games, characters
you want to blog about? Be sure to go into detail about each item on your list.
Just slapping the list onto your blog and calling it good is frowned upon here.

One blog a day Limit:

When you reach level 5 your new blog posts will appear on the
main blog page for all to see. A lot of users work hard on their blogs and want
their fair share of time on the front page. So whenever you publish a new blog
you are sending one blog to the second page. Because of this we ask that you don't post more
than one blog a day. This has become a custom for the blogging section by the community members.

This is more of being courteous to your fellow bloggers which
is why this isn't a rule. There is nothing wrong with making two blogs
in one day if they are well written and are genuine posts. However, if
you continue to post multiple blogs even after
members have told you about this then you could be in trouble. For
example, if you post three blogs in a row, members tell you about this
one blog a day limit and you continue to post blogs a ban could be
issued. We just want to keep the blogging section free of spam. It
shouldn't be too much to ask to wait a day before publishing your next
blog.

Plagiarism:

Please don't plagiarize. Copying a wiki or article just to post
it on your blog and doing nothing else at all is frowned upon. Don't do it or a
ban will be issued. Your blog is your place to be creative. Blogging isn't
about getting views.

This is a list of guidelines that are more towards the Forum
section of GIO. However, all of the rules and guidelines listed above still
apply to the forums. Once again these are the Forum section "Community"
guidelines. If you would like to suggest a new guideline to be added to this
list please contact a moderator.

Double posting:

Making consecutive posts to append a previous comment is
generally frowned upon. Please use the edit button at the bottom right on your
post to change anything or to add anything. Also, please refrain from making
multiple posts in the same thread in short order to garner attention. If
someone has a relevant point to add to a thread, they will make it. Repeating a
message or hounding others for replies can and will result in post deletions
and (if necessary) ban time.

Commenting (a.k.a. Hijacking):

Typically, a post that changes the subject in a humorous nature.
Hijacking a thread is alright in good fun, but try not to completely derail the
original topic of conversation with your hijack. Mods will edit threads at
their discretion if the hijacking is inappropriate, or a general nuisance to
the topic/posters at hand.

Duplicate threads:

Multiple threads on the same subject are not allowed and any
found will be locked, in an effort to keep the boards clean. If you are
uncertain whether or not a thread already exists on the subject you wish to
discuss, use the search button located near the GI insignia.

Reviving Old Threads (a.k.a. Thread Necromancy):

Thread necromancy, the act of reviving an old thread that has
been inactive for a period of months or years, is preferred over making
duplicate threads for the same subject. However, it is strongly encouraged that
you make the post insightful and an actual contribution to the thread. Reviving
a thread to make inane comments such as "bump" or "Yeah I
agree," is frowned upon, and may result in a lock of the thread.

VS. Threads:

We all know how important it is to know who'd win between Samus
or Master Chief, Sam Fisher or Solid Snake, etc. Vs threads are not allowed as
they are known to cause flame wars. Most of the posts in these threads result
in one word posts as well.

Your Signature:

If you put a picture in your sig, first make sure it is
appropriate, and also shrink it down if it is a big picture. Please use your own
judgment for this. There's not a specific size we require, but if the picture
in your sig is too big a moderator will shrink it down for you.

List of links that are acceptable in your sig:
- MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, LastFM, Vibe or other personally-made social
networking pages
- YouTube, Google Video or other public video sharing sites*
- Flickr, Photobucket, Image Shack or other image hosting sites**
- Links to open source and other legal software under GNU, CPL, BSD or other
licenses.
* Videos must be legal and appropriate and may not contain any subject matter
violating rules stated in this thread ** All images must be copyright free and
appropriate. Game Informer reserves the right to remove any embedded image or
video deemed inappropriate at any time without notifying the user.

Be nice. Be appropriate. No advertising, hacks talk, harassment, sexism, racism, or anything that makes you sound like a jerk.